When Mollie was born we were told that she had a "precipitous birth" -- good for my daughter, bad for the baby. She wasn't in the birth canal long enough to get rid of all the "goop" that was in her various tubes. One of the consequences happens to be reflux.
So, at 2 1/2 weeks, Mollie (crying, crying, crying, vomiting, bubbling, and impossible to calm down or burp) was put on Prevacid.
Yesterday she had her 4 week checkup. The doctor was pleased with her progress, her excellent weight gain, her growth in general, and upped her dose of the Prevacid. Grandma (me) freaked out. "What will happen if she turns out like me? Stomachache, reflux, misery, misery misery?" The doctor explained that as her digestive system grows, the less sensitive she will be to the things that trigger her reflux (at this point it's just breast milk).
My daughter, on the other hand, has been taken off ALL dairy, ALL soy, is not able to eat peanut butter, sushi, cheese, ice cream, and all the healthy things she loves. But she loves Mollie more. They will work it out. Mollie snuggles up close to her Mama and enjoys her meal, pain free, misery free, and Mama smiles because she knows that Mollie is satisfied and happy. So is Mama.
Dear Mollie's Grandma,
Thank you for sharing your story. You are such a good grandma to help Mollie's family deal with the intense caretaking needed to care for a baby with reflux. The good news is that most babies outgrow reflux in the first year or two. Babies eat mainly a liquid meal (and a large amount compared to an adult). In addition, a baby's stomach doesn't stretch as easily as an adult stomach making it much more likely that the milk will come up. A baby's esophagus is shorter in proportion to an adult esophagus. All of this baby anatomy makes reflux more common in infancy.
So hang on tight for the ups and downs of caring for a high need baby and don't forget to take a million pictures and hug/kiss her over and over!
Jan Gambino
The Reflux Mom